Residents of Daniel Island overwhelmingly supported the Berkeley County School District’s bid last November for a tax increase to fund five new schools, believing that one of those schools would alleviate overcrowding at the island’s only public school.

On Monday, District Superintendent Rodney Thompson will update residents on the status of the project, including the building design, search for a location, and the project timeline. Residents also will have the opportunity to give input.

When the referendum was presented, it called for a middle school in the Daniel Island/Cainhoy area to relieve overcrowding at the kindergarten through eighth-grade Daniel Island School, which was built for 1,200 students but is more than 100 students over capacity.

Voters in and around Daniel Island supported the $198 million Yes 4 Schools referendum by a 70-30 ratio.

In recent months residents have become worried about the possible location of the school, while school board members and Thompson have maintained that the district has not made a decision regarding the location.

Residents have taken to commenting about the issue at school board meetings and on social media, saying that building a school on Clements Ferry Road would negatively affect the lifestyle they bought into on Daniel Island.

Some say the school issue is a major force behind a recent effort to move the island from Berkeley County to Charleston County, but questions have arisen about whether district lines would move along with county lines.

The Daniel Island Neighborhood Association and the Daniel Island Property Owners Association are exploring whether there is enough support on the island to pursue the Charleston County annexation.

Reach Brenda Rindge at 937-5713 or @brindge on Twitter.

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